


Seven Minutes

by Iron_Angel



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Emotions, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friendship, Ghoul Sex, Pining, Post-Canon, Relationship Discussions, Sequel, tie-in with Beer and Benefits series, welcome to rare pair hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 03:30:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16255760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iron_Angel/pseuds/Iron_Angel
Summary: Nora returns to the Slog to find a surprise gift, good times, and difficult discussions.Sequel toSalt of the Earth





	Seven Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: *insert standard "don't own, no profits made" jargon here* Beta'd by CrackingLamb, but all mistakes/typos are mine. I'll correct them as I find them.
> 
> **Sequel set after "Salt of the Earth" and between the events of "Spring Fever" and "Between Want and Need" of the _Beer and Benefits_ series.**

Nora loved the Slog. Sure, a few of the other Minutemen protected settlements had better conveniences, but the Slog had a charm that appealed to her. Or rather, she thought as virtually the entire crew came out to meet her, it was the charm of the residents.

A flurry of smiles and handshakes swamped her before they set to work unstrapping the delivery from the brahmin she had hired and escorted. "It's almost like watching a swarm of ants," she commented to herself as they quickly unloaded the supplies that had taken her most of the previous day to pack.

"Many hands make light work," Wiseman said, returning her smile as he sauntered up to her. He nodded toward the commotion. "Good haul, though. You made excellent time. Welcome back..."

She saw his hand clenching and unclenching at his side, and she privately delighted in the shifting gleam in his eye as she took it in hers. The others would be too busy to notice the subtle caress of thumbs as both held on for just a little too long to be a greeting.

They would definitely notice, however, if she gave into the temptation to kiss his cheek, so she quelled the urge with a happy, "It's good to be back." Letting his hand go, she propped both of hers on her hips as she turned to survey the tarberry bog and pool house. "Wow, looks like you all have been very busy since the last time I visited."

Several places where the old chain link fence had been bent and torn were repaired now, and the underbrush around the outside of the main garden had been cleared away. A ladder had been build into the far end of the bog, and a new fire pit had been dug under the roasting spit; she could guess that the pile of logs neatly stacked next to it was the remnants of the old felled tree from the garden's edge. And on the whole, everything really looked cleaner and more tidy.

"There's been time to take care of more than just the bare necessities for survival," he said with pride. "The newcomers you sent have turned out to be very talented, hard workers. In fact," she turned to follow him as he stepped toward the far side of the pool house, "there's something I want to show you."

Turning the corner and out of sight of the rest, he paused to take her hand again, his smile a bit impish. He didn't say a word, though, as he led her past the old playground and down the incline to the snack shack at the edge of the recreation center's destroyed parking lot.

The debris and old bones had also been cleared away from around the small building, and the once blown-out windows had been completely boarded up. Coming around the the front, she could see that the broken pane of glass in the door was covered with a sheet of metal bolted on the inside and the lock she had busted open ages ago had been replaced with a new one.

"You had mentioned building yourself personal living quarters the last time you were here," he explained as he unlocked the door. Handing her the key, he held it open for her to walk in ahead of him. He clicked on an overhead light as he followed, letting the door close behind them. "We decided to pitch in and do it for you... as a thank you."

Nora blinked in awe. Last time she had been in the shack, there had been rusted out machines and piles of garbage as high as the windows. Now it was swept and scrubbed with all the old appliances switched out for a workbench with a drill press and vise, the broken cabinet doors removed to make open shelves, and a valiantly cleaned mattress laid out in the back.

Seeing her gaze stop on it, he apologized. "We haven't had the materials to spare to build a proper bed yet."

She shook her head. "It's not a problem; take your time. Cushioned and clean is more than acceptable compared to sleeping on the ground when I'm on the road." Then she noticed the windows. "I thought they were just boarded, but they're bricked up too?"

"Thought it best to reinforce it, since it's so far from the turrets. Turns out, Miss Nell's family had some skill at masonry that they passed down to each generation. See here?" He reached out, turning the light back off. The diner went pitch black. "Not even a sliver of light between any cracks." His almost fatherly pride in his young charge was clear in his tone.

She smiled though she knew even his night vision was useless in this complete darkness. "Very impressive." Then she chuckled as a errant thought struck her.

"Something funny?"

With a soft click and a buzz, she turned her Pipboy's light on, casting a dim green glow. She shook her head. "Not really. I was just reminded of that old, pre-war game we used to play as teenagers called Seven Minutes in Heaven."

"Ah," he murmured, surprising her by lowering his gaze. He looked... forlorn.

"Wise...?" she started, worried.

He waved her off, meeting her eyes briefly before looking away again. "No need for the concern," he said, though his cheery tone sounded a bit forced. "Just remembering... and reminiscing." The side of his mouth quirked up in chagrin. "I wasn't the type to be asked to play those kinds of party games."

Keeping any thoughts of pity to herself, she moved closer to him, slipping her hand into his again and giving it a light squeeze. He shifted his gaze from their hands to her face as she reached up to cup his cheek. "There's a first time for everything," she whispered, leaning into him.

He paused for a heartbeat before accepting her invitation, closing the distance by wrapping his free arm around her as he kissed her. As before, he didn't rush, but was quick to take advantage of her parted lips to deepen it, turning to press her against the edge of the low counter.

Going weak in the knees, she was grateful for the support. It being the perfect height, she slid back onto the worktop, wrapping her legs around his waist. He suddenly let out a groan as she pulled him closer, and a spark of concern crossed her mind for a moment before she realized -- before she _felt_ \-- why. Breaking the kiss, he pulled back slightly to reach up to tug the zipper of her suit down, and she answered with a moan at the heat of his mouth against the cooler skin of her throat and lower.

A heat of a different kind was rapidly pooling in her core as he continued his downward explorations. Skimming her hands over his scalp and the back of his neck, she rolled her hips against his and whimpered, "Wiseman, I want..."

"Anything..." he murmured against her sternum, echoing back to their first time. He lifted his head to capture her lips again. His self-restraint was cracking; this kiss was definitely more frantic and uncontrolled. "You can have anything you want of me."

"Please make love to me, Wise."

He stepped back to shrug off his flannel shirt, jeans, and boots as she quickly unclasped and set aside her still lit Pipboy, then helped her out of the rest of her gear. Bare down to her panties, she shivered at the contrast between the chill air and the burning heat of his ghoul skin as he took her up in his arms to carry her to the mattress. He laid her down gently before kneeling between her knees and removing the last thin garment separating them.

She knew that her touch more than anything thrilled him; he was practically purring as she continued running her hands along his back and shoulders.

He bent to nip and nibble from jaw to breast, coaxing the rosy bud into a stiff peak as his own hand lightly traced up her inner thigh. He gave equal attention to the other as his fingers slid between her folds. In no time at all, he found her clit, stroking it with his thumb as he pressed two into her opening with barely any resistance.

"So wet..." he marveled.

She threw her head back with a sharp and quickly muffled cry as his work-roughened digits sent electrified waves through her core to the top of her head and down to the tips of her toes. "Please, Wise!" she begged, flexing her knees against his hips, but unable to say more.

He understood anyway. Gently pulling his fingers free, he braced himself over her with one hand and he took himself in the other. Leaning down to kiss her once more, he lined up and pushed in easily. He had to take a few moments to steady himself, but then she wrapped her legs around his waist again, drawing him closer, and he lost all composure. He snapped his hips forward and Nora arched, the pleasure of his hand nothing compared to what _this_ felt like.

He took her hard and fast, the force of his thrusts threatening to rock her completely off the mattress. The slide of his cock in and out, the sound of his panting breaths, drove her ever closer to her orgasm. Just before she could reach that peak, he shifted her left leg up onto his shoulder, seeming to plunge in even deeper, and it took everything she had not to scream out her satisfaction. He followed in what felt like only a half heartbeat later, pulling out to come over her hip and thigh.

~

Several minutes and exchanged kisses, and a clean up later, Nora laid drowsing in the afterglow with her back against Wiseman's chest, enjoying the feel of his touch as he outlined the ridges and dips of her own scars along her arm and shoulder.

"This one looks odd," he said softly. She hummed a questioning sound, and he ran his finger over one near the back of her neck. "Almost like you were... bitten... by someone. Nora...?"

Her eyes snapped open, and she went rigid. After a long pause, she said, "It's nothing."

This close, there was no chance he wouldn't notice the change. "That reaction doesn't feel like 'nothing'." He shifted her around onto her back, propping up next to her on one arm while he brushed her hair away from her temples with the other. "I'm a ghoul, too, Nora, and the beginning of spring wasn't that long ago."

She could feel her cheeks flush, imagining that the green light of her Pipboy made it look like dark patches spreading to her ears.

"Someone special?"

It would have been much harder if he had appeared to be angry, but there was no heat or malice in his voice; simply curiosity. "No." No, that wasn't right. "Yes." That didn't sound right, either. "I don't know... Maybe?"

He cocked a skeptical eyebrow ridge at her. "Most smoothskins can't handle a ghoul's heat. He must mean _something_ to you to let yourself be put through that."

She ran a tired hand over her face. She really didn't want to talk about Deegan -- didn't want to _think_ about Deegan -- while still laying naked in another man's arms. "It's complicated..."

He nodded sympathetically, waiting.

Something told her he'd wait her out as long as he needed to get a straight answer. Probably where he got the name _Wiseman_ , she thought as she eyed him warily. Sighing in defeat, she said, "We're just friends... I think." The other eyebrow ridge rose to join the skeptic, but he remained silent. "I don't know. I mean, I'd like us to be more, but... we..."

Unbidden thoughts and memories came back to her, the clearest and hardest hitting being Deegan's unintentional slip after leaving the mark that would eventually scar. _"I'm sorry, love..."_ It was the heat of the moment; he couldn't have meant it.

Wiseman's hand against her jaw and searching look into her eyes brought her back to focus.

She let out another sigh. "We've never talked about it," she said, voice going flat, "and I'm not going to push it." She ran her hand up his chest, fingertips mapping the heavier pattern of scars at his collar. "Nor am I going to deny myself the pleasurable company of my friends waiting for something that may never happen."

He continued to stare at her for another long moment, his gaze still searching, before he seemed satisfied by whatever he found. "I can't fault the logic of your wisdom. Chief reason being that I enjoy your company, too." He tilted her chin up, but the kiss she anticipated didn't come. "Just promise me you'll listen if he _does_ try to talk to you about it?"

Such an odd -- and implausible -- request, but she nodded in agreement. "I promise. But Wiseman?" He hmm'd. "Please, I don't want to think about... him... anymore right now."

He seemed to understand, but asked, "What would you have me do?"

She pushed up, kissing him with a sensual tenderness. "Please make love to me again?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it's only... 15?... 16?... months overdue, but for all who requested it, here's your part 2 of the wonderful Wiseman.
> 
> Special thank you to CrackingLamb for her invaluable assistance in prodding me in the right direction (dialogue) with this fic. This would be a _lot_ harder without you, doll.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are much appreciated lifeblood. So won't you please feed the starving author?


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